Pocket-iron for billiard-tables and the like.



F. C. HOBBS.

POCKET IRON FOR BILLIARD TABLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLlCATION FILED Aue.31.1914.

1,172,457. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH .50., WASHINGTON, D. c.

F. c. HOBBS.

POCKET IRON FOR BlLL'lAfiD TABLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3I, 1914.-

1,172,457. I Patented Feb. 22,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. C. HOBBS.

POCKET IRON FOR BI LLIARD TABLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.31, 1914.

1,172,457. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

i I und I: 5:

F. C. HOBBS.

POCKET IRON FOR BILLIARD TABLES AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED AUG.3|,1914.

1,172,457. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON. D. c.

F. 0. H0888. POCKE-T IRON-FOR BILLIARD TABLES AND THE LIKE.

-APPL|CATION FILED AUG.3I| 1914.

Till C Ql-UMIIQ PLAN-DORA? C0" WASHINOTUN, D- C Patented Feb. 22,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5L UNITED STATES PATENT orrion.

FRANK G. HOBBSpOFMUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO BRUNSVVICK-BALKE-COLLENDER 60., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

POCKET-IRON- FOR BILLIAR-D-TABLES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatenteclFeb. 2 2, 1916.

Application filed August 31, 1914. Serial No. 859,397.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, FRANKC. Hones, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city of Muskegon, in the county of Muskego-n and Stateof Michigan, have invented certain new. and useful Improvements inPocket-Irons for Billiard-Tables and the like; and I do hereby declarethat the following description of my said invention, taken in connectionwith the accompanying sheets of drawings, forms a full, clear, and exactspecification, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention, therefore, consists in the novel and peculiar combinationof parts and details of construction as hereinafter first duly set forthand described, and then pointed out in the claims.

Pocket irons for billiard tables, heretofore,

generally have been made of cast iron or.

malleable iron. As these irons are received from the foundry they are ofrough exterior, full of burs, humps, and sand spots, requiring a largeamount of grinding, polishing, and fitting to convert the same into ausable form in a billiard table. Besides, a leather outside covering isnecessary being affixed thereto to avoid possible injury to the ivory orcomposition billiard balls impacting thereagainst, making the cost of acomplete set of six pocket irons run'into a considerable sum, relativelyspeaking.

The aim of my invention therefore is the' production of side and cornerpocket irons from flat sheet metallic blanks of proper contour formed.to the desired shape in dies under suitable presses in the process ofstamping or drawing. By this method of construction the blanks. may beof a very light or thin gage of sheet metal, producing a very lightweight device of hollow interior, of great strength because of its beingdrawn or stamped to shape, and an article which maybemade from sheetsteel, brass, or other sheet metallic material, highly polished andbuffed, at a lesser cost than the present irons.

In addition to the foregoing my invention includes new and novel meansfor attaching the usual knitted, netted, leather, or other type ofpocketsto the pocket iron, so that such pockets may be readily removedor replaced.

Another novel element of my invention reinvention is the fact that thedevice is consides in means whereby a cushion leather may be quicklysnapped into the pocket iron, and as rapidly removed therefrom. Andoneof the most important points of my structed from'thin, springy, sheetmetal, having an arcuate curved portion of V shaped cross section,against the inner alls of which curved portion, a billiard ball isintendedto strike when a pocket shot is made. The arcuate portion withits inner wall, being springy in nature, the force of impact of a ballstriking the said inner wall is practically expended in creating ayielding of the said wall at the instant of impact, so that the reactionwill be slight and the reboundlng tendency rofthe ball reduced to aminimum. Andit is to be understood that the ball strikes the outwardlydeclined 'face of the inner wall, so that what reaction exists pocket.

In the drawings already referred to,

will project the ball downwardly into the which serve to illustrate mysaid invention Fig. & is a cross section on an" enlarged scale in line Mof Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of'Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is atransverse section in line 6- 6 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a side eleva-.

tion of a net, or other pocket attaching device employed in connectionwith my invention, and Fig. 8 is a plan thereof. 1 Fig. 9 is atransverse section in line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a plan of a completedjso called corner pocket iron, employedat the corners of pocket billiard tables, constructed in .accordancewith my invention. Fig.1l is a plan of said pocket with the coverremoved; Fig. 12 is a horizontal fragmental section in'line 12-12 of-Fig. 6. Fig. 13 is a transverse section in line l313 of Fig. 12. Fig. 14is a plan of a blank'for sheet metallic fastening clip employed in myinvention. Fig. 15 is an elevation thereof as formed up. Fig. 16 aperspective view of the same. Fig. 17 is asection similar to Fig. 12,showing the prefer-red form of a fasteningclip. Fig. 18 is a transversesection on line 1818 of Fig. 17 Fig. 19 is a plan of the blank for thesaid preferred form of the'clip. elevation of the completed clip, andFig. 21 a perspective view of the same.

Like parts are indicated by corresponding characters or symbols ofreference in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, A, Fig. 1, denotes a side pocket iron asit is produced by the dies necessary to shape the same. In plan itcomprises two like rectangularzend members 10 and 10 of open top, flatbot tom, box-like cross-section, integrally connected by a more or lesssemi-circular :mem ber 11 of V-shape cross section. The flat bottoms 12and 12 of end members 1 and 10 gradually merge into the V-shaped member11 as seen at 13 and 13, this being accomplished in the process of-sheetmetallic drawing Or stamping. Along the upper,

outer edges of the end members 10 and 10 r curled head 15, Figs. 1 and5, along the upper, inner edge of the V-shaped member 11 and a decliningflange .16 extending outwardly from the upper edge of said member 11. Inthe face of this flange 16 is produced a continuous depression 17,through the bottom of which are punched, at spaced intervals, ob--wardly pending loops 18, the latter being.

adapted to project through the openings 17 of the said depression; itbeing understood that the wire 18 1S lodged in, said depresslon and isflush with the upper surface of the flange 16, as seen in Fig. 6. Thepurpose of thiswire and its loops is the provision of neat and efiicientmeans for attaching the.

pocket proper to the pocket iron, which pocket proper may be of anydesired type or design.

Located about medially of the length of the flat bottoms 12 and 12 ofthe end members 10 and 10 are provided depressions l9 and 19 each ofwhich has a central aperture or opening 20 and 20 theformer lodg mentsfor threaded nuts 21, Fig. 9, and the latter passages for suitable boltsadapted to be threaded into said nuts, whereby the pocket iron isfastened to the usual bed rail of a pocket billiard table. Over thesenuts 21 is placed a yielding washer 21, Fig. 9, which when a cover A isplaced in position, as hereinafter described, is slightlycompressed,thereby maintaining said. nuts firmly in position and preventing anyrattling thereof.

Through the inner Wall of the V-shaped member 11, about medially of theheight thereof and equally spaced apart, are punched or drilled a seriesof circular open- Fig. 20 is an.

'26 are bent downwardly as at 27. V prongs, however, have theirbendmgline of ings22, Fig. 1, for the reception of spring fasteners 23, Figs.13, 14, 15, and 16, at

vtached to a leather cushioningstrip 2i extending around. the inner wallof the said V- shaped member, to provide yielding means to deaden theforce of impact of a billiard ball and preventing contactthereof withthe metallic structure.

The strip 2% is possessed of a light metallic backing strip 24, Figs. 5and 6, to insure the maintenance of shape of said yielding strip, andsaid metallic strip has punched or drilled therethrough a series ofholes 25,- Fig. 13, corresponding, in spacing to the apertures 22 inV-shaped member 11. Spring fastener 23 is comprised of a flat blank ofsheet metallic material .26, of generally star shaped contour, asillustr-atedin Fig. 14, andconsisting of four members 26 radiating froma common center at angles of ninety degrees and possessed of roundedouter ends, and four prongs 26 radiating from the same center butdisposed. at angles of fortyfive degrees to the respective members 26These latter members 26 are bent upwardly into dome shape as at 27,while the prongs These smaller diameter than that of the members 26 sothat there is formed ,a shoulder 28,- Fig. 15. The outside diameter. oftheprongs is the same as theholes 25 inthe backing strip 24;, while thedome shaped portion 27 is quite a snug fit in :the openings 22 of the.V-shaped member 11. The prongs, of these-x fasteners are passed throughthe openings 25 and driven: into theyielding material (preferablyleather) 24. In the process of driving the prongs deflect from a truecourse and clench, as it were, in the. leather, as

. clearly indicated in, Fig. 13. The driving in of these prongs iscontinued until theshoulder 28 is driven tightly against the backing,plate 24 and the latter in rigid contact with the leather 241. It willthus be seen that, the

fasteners 23 serve the double purpose of fixedly uniting the back ngplate andthe leather, and also of removably attaching this structure tothe inner wall of the V-shaped member 11 in a manner readily compre--hended.

The flat blank of the cover plate AYalready referred to and shown inFig.2 is of the same general. contour of the shaped up pocket iron A,except that it is greater in 10 and 10 and are. curledaround the bead 15and flange 16 of the V-shaped member 11 and ti htly squeezed down soasto securely fasten the said cover to the iron proper in a manner clearlyindicated in Figs. 4-, 5, 6, and 9. v I

In Figs. 10 and 11 is illustrated a corner pocket iron constructed inaccordance with my invention. The only difierence between the side andcorner pocket iron is that the end members 10 and 10 are disposed atright angles to each other, with the connecting V-shaped member slightlymore than a semi-circle in the latter instance, instead of the endmembers being in alinement as in the former case.

In Figs. 17, 18,19, and 21, I disclose the preferred form of the springfastener or clip indicated as 23, which is comprised of a blank of sheetmetallic material 52 of generally star shaped contour, consisting offour members 26 radiating from a common center at angles of ninetydegrees and four prong shaped members 26* of slightly greater length andbreadth, radiating from the same center but disposed at angles offorty-five degrees to the respective members 26. All of these membersare bent downwardly to produce a cup shaped structure as clearly seen inFig. 20, but the members 26 have their lower ends 28 bent outwardly, toform shoulders adapted to rest upon and be pressed into backing strips24-2 as indicated in Fig. 18. The cup shaped structure comprising theclip 23 is a snug fit in openings 22 in the V-shaped members 11, whilethe prong shaped members 26" are adapted to pass through the holes 25 inthebacking strip 24 and to be forced into the'leather strip 24. In theprocess of forcing, the prongs are deflected from a true course andclench, as it were, within the leather. This forcing process iscontinued until the shoulders 28 are pressed into the backing strip 24*until the same are flush with the outer surface thereof.

I now wish to emphasize the advantages of my present invention over theusual pocket iron. When this device is fabricated in the punch pressfrom bright sheet steel or brass, it is of a perfectly smooth andshapely defined outline, both outside and inside, and free from burs orhumps, thereby eliminating the heavy grinding necessary as in the castpocket iron. A light application of the polishing wheel places thepressed structure in readiness for the nickeling or silver platingprocess. Again, the cover for the pocket iron is not a necessaryappendage. The various flanges 1i and 14 may be turned inwardlyandclosely against the walls of the end members10 to produce a finishedappearance. The bead 15 will retain the same functions i. e., that ofincreasing the elastic limit of the metal of the walls of theV- shapedgroove 11, as at present, while yet maintaining the springiness of thestructure as a whole, in which resides the importance of my invention.

It is well known that the present cast, rigid. pocket iron is disastrousto the surface of a billiard ball when the average thickness of cushionlayer is employed, because the sharp, solid unyielding impact of theball against the iron results in dentingthe periphery of the ball orballs and soon renders it or them inaccurate. To avoid this vdefect ofthe cast pocket irons; billiardists, particularly those in publicparlors use a thick, heavy. cushion lining to avoid the sharp, solidimpact of the ball, against the iron, but in so doing,'this thick,heavy, lining, being of relatively soft material, is considerablyindented, whereby a-sufiicient rebound of the ball is created and theangle of reflection of the ball so altered, that a large portion of whatshould have become pocket shots, result in misses. In my invention,however, the curved walls of V-shaped cross section are of thin springy.material, and the inner wall thereof, .when struck by a ball gives,yields, or springs back 'as it were, to dissipate the force of impact ofthe ball, and it is only necessary to employ the thin leather backingmember 24, to prevent metallic contact of the ball. This thin leathermaterial is not 'sufiicient in thickness to influence the angle ofreflection of the ball, though the angular position of-the V-shaped wallis, and, a pocket shot is the result whenever properly directed, byreason of the fact that the force of the ball is greatly lessened andits speed checked by the yielding, springy nature of the wall. It maybeadded that Vshaped construction of the arcuate portion of my deviceperforms several new and novel functions. If the wall wereperpendicular, the force of impactof the ball would create a directbending moment against the wall, at the point of impact, which bendingmoment would be greatly increased at the lower jointure of said wallwith its connecting wall, according to the well known laws ofbendingmoments, thereby cheating a strong a tendency to deflect saidperpendicular wall away from its normal position. But, by declining thewall away from the point of I impact, the liveliness of the wall or itsfacility to deflect and return will be maintained for an indefinitelength of time.

The other important function of the out wardly declining or V-shapedwall, is its tendency to cause a well directed shot to enter its pocket,rather than to rebound therefrom. It is well known that the anglesof'incidence-and of reflection of a billiard to a perpendicular erectedfrom the point rection the reaction causes the entrance of the ball intothe pocket :already referred to.

While herein I have disclosed the preferred mode of practising myinvention, I may make such changes and alterations therein as maysuggest themselves to the skilled mechanic or permitted by the doctrineof equivalents.

Having thus fully disclosed myinvention I claim as new and desire tosecure to myself by Letters Patent of the United States 1. As animproved article of manufacture, a sheet metal pocket iron, comprising amain body, a part of said main body being curved, a cover on said mainbody, said cover being secured to said main body, there being retainedbetween said body and cover, means for suspending a pocket nettherefrom.

As a new article of manufacture, a billiard pocket iron, comprising amain body formed of sheet metal, said main body having end members andan arcuate middle member, and a cover for said main body, said coverbeing likewise formed of sheet metal, said cover being secured to saidmain body, there being means retained. between said cover andbody, andprojecting through said body, for suspending a pocket net therefrom.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a billiard pocket iron, comprising amain body formed of sheet metal, said main body having end members ofsubstantially rectangular cross section, a medial arcuate member, saidarcuate member being of substantially veshaped cross section, saidmembers having marginal flanges, and a sheet metal cover for said mainbody, said cover havlng marginal flanges constructed to engage themarginal flanges of said main body, there being means retained betweensaid cover and body, and projecting through said body, for suspending apocket net therefrom.

el. As a new article of manufacture a flat sheet metallic blank formedto shape, with end members of rectangular cross section.

and a curved middle member of V-shaped cross section, which blank whenso formed constitutes a pocket iron for billiard tables and the like,and cushioning means removably attached to the inner wall of said curvedmiddle member.

5. As a new article of manufacture a flat sheet metallic blank formed toshape, with end members of rectangular cross section:

and a curved middle member of V--'shaped cross section, which blank whenso formed constitutes a pocket iron for billiard tables and the like,and pocket attaching meansin connection with the outer wall of said middle member.

6. A billiard pocket iron comprising an:

end members and a curved middlemember, said endmembers being ofrectangular. cross.

section and said middle member of V-shaped cross section, there beingmarginal flanges around said members, a sheet metallic cover havinginturned edges embracing said marginal "flanges, and devices within saidend members whereby said :iron may be fixed to a billiard table andthelike.

8. A pocketiron comprising an integral,

hollow, sheet metallic structure possessed of end members and a curvedmiddle member, there being marginal. flanges around.

the exterior of said members, a depression in the flange around theconvex portion of said middle member, having openings in the bottomthereof, a. curved wire having,

loops projecting through. said openings, lodged in said depression, anda cover locked to said marginal flanges retaining;

said wire in place.

9. In a billiard pocket iron, the combination. of a main body, said mainbody having a curved medial portion, there being openings in the innerwall of said curved portions, a backing strip, a yieldable materialexterior to said backing strip, said backing strip and said yieldablematerial being curved to correspond to the curvature of. the medialportion of said main body, fastening means constructed to secure theyieldable material to said backing stripand to engage sa1d openings 111the inner wall of the medial portion of the main body, to

removably retainsaid backing strip and yieldable material imposition onsaid main body.

10. As a new article of manufacture, a billiard pocketiron' having twoends and an arcuate medial portion, the whole being an integral sheetmetallic structure formed to the contour described, said medial por-'tion being composed of upwardly diverging walls forming a structure ofV-shaped cross section, whereby. when one of said walls is struck thesame will yield to the force of said impact and partially dissipate thesame.

11. A sheet metallic pocket iron comprising a curved medial body andends nontangent thereto, there being marginal flanges around said body,the outer of said flanges being possessed of openings therethrough, acover for said body covering said openings, and means lodged in anddepending from said flanges for the suspension of a pocket net.

12. As a new article of manufacture, a billiard pocket iron, comprisinga main body formed of sheet metal, said main body having end members andan arcuate middle member, and a cover for said main body, said coverbeing likewise formed of sheet metal, said cover being secured to saidmain body, said middle member being of V-shaped cross section comprisingdiverging side walls, whereby when the inner wall thereof be impacted asby a billiard ball, said wall will yield to the force of said impact andpartially dissipate the force thereof;

13. As a new article of manufacture, a sheet metallic blank formed toshape, which blank when so formed constitutes a pocket iron,substantially semi-circular in plan and of V-shaped cross section, thelatter comprising diverging side walls, said walls being constructed toyield to the force of impact when struck by a ball.

14. As a new article of manufacture a flat sheet metallic blank formedto shape, with end members of rectangular cross section and a curvedmiddle member of V-- projecting therefrom, the inner face of said curvedsection comprising a wall of a thin and yielding nature, and beingdownwardly and outwardly inclined, whereby when said wall be impacted,as by a billiard ball, the same will yield to the force of said impactand will project said ball through said pocket iron.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set myhand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

- FRANK C. HOBBS. In the presence of F. J. LOEWE, M. J. WHELAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

